How the Media Influences Perceptions of Mental Health
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You don't need me to tell you that the media and entertainment industry can sometimes inappropriately reference mental health and mental illness for the ratings. You know that.
But, it doesn't mean that we don't need a reminder that it's still happening, and how harmful that can be to public perception of these topics - especially when it comes to publicized acts of violence, disagreements, and other social occurrences.
I'm not trying to industry-bash here, but the media (in all its forms) continues to frequently highlight the most violent, dramatic, or salacious moments of those experiencing a mental health or mental illness “episode.” Why? To capture the audience's attention.
There’s obviously a huge problem with this.
There are obviously cases that warrant this attention that do involve serious cases of mental illness that can manifest in ways that are harmful to people, but this is not the majority of occasions. But, when we only hear about those outlier instances so often from a variety of different outlets, it subconsciously influences our perceptions more than we realize.
Unless folks go out of their way to find other information from other sources, they don’t realize how subtly the media and entertainment have influenced their views — or how long it’s been happening. And if we take it a step further - we also need to think about how different spheres of influence can shape that messaging even more (i.e. country of origin, regional culture, etc.).
While we’ve seen evidence time and time again in media studies of how harmful this influence is, it’s time to acknowledge that this is still happening, and, that we can carry these opinions into work.
HOW THE MEDIA INFLUENCES US
The media is the predominant way that we stay connected — we hear stories and get information from groups of people we don’t interact with regularly (and unfortunately it's not always accurate). Nevertheless, it’s a large way of how we learn about what’s going on in the world.
And, because that information is so easily accessible, and comes at us at the speed of light all the time, it's 'easier' to absorb than doing our own independent research which requires far more effort and critical thinking.
So when it comes to mental health and mental illness, the media heavily influences our attitudes, biases, and beliefs around the subject (whether we realize it or not). The problem is how that information is presented to us:
“Studies consistently show that both entertainment and news media provide overwhelmingly dramatic and distorted images of mental illness that emphasize dangerousness, criminality and unpredictability. They also model negative reactions to the mentally ill, including fear, rejection, derision and ridicule.”¹
The stories we hear are often only a small snippet or sound bite about a complex subject like mental health. That narrow lens of information doesn’t show the whole picture — and might be presented in a way to purposely stir up intense emotions.
OUR SKEWED PERSPECTIVE
Because of the small slice of information we receive from the media, many people’s perceptions of mental health or mental illness are inaccurate — especially if their only source of information is the media (or worse, social media) and they don't do their own independent research to learn more.
The media often skews our perception into one of two categories (neither of which are helpful):
Stigmatization or labeling someone as different, “other,” or socially unacceptable. In this extreme, the media often ignores the illness and blames the person by assuming the illness dictates the entirety of who they are. This promotes the idea that everyone with a specific illness has the exact same symptoms, which isn’t true.²
Trivialization or making mental health/mental illness seem less important than it is. In this extreme, the media tends to oversimplify symptoms of mental health struggles and downplays how serious they might be.²
So when someone witnesses a colleague struggling with their mental health at work, some people don’t know how to react to the situation. Instead, they draw on what they’ve seen in the media or entertainment and are quick to (inaccurately) label the person as “crazy” or “overreacting”, when their reaction may be completely reasonable to an objectively upsetting event or stimulus.
On top of that, people who hold these skewed perceptions can often find each other in the same company. Their shared group mindset can influence how they react to behavior they may not understand or seems different. If that attitude snowballs, it can lead to a workplace environment that destroys psychological safety.
MENTAL HEALTH IN THE MEDIA TODAY
In the last decade, there’s been an improvement in depicting mental health in the media, in part due to the pandemic. We’re starting to see more accurate representations in entertainment and the news.
TV shows like This Is Us and Ted Lasso talk about mental health struggles that many of us experience in our everyday lives — like emotional eating or panic attacks. Movies like Silver Linings Playbook or The Perks of Being a Wallflower show realistic struggles people may experience when a traumatic event happens.
Even celebrities and athletes are taking to the media to spotlight this subject.
Gymnast Simone Biles spoke out last year about the importance of taking care of her mental health despite the tremendous pressure of being a top athlete in the Olympics. And comedian Taylor Tomlinson in her Look At You special on Netflix talks about her relatable story of growing up with parents who didn’t understand what she was going through — even when she had panic attacks and night terrors as a child.
While these examples show tremendous progress, “it will be years before the previous archetype is erased altogether from the media.”³
But seeing realistic representations of mental health ultimately shifts and broadens our perspective, including at work.
CHANGE YOUR PERCEPTIONS
While we are moving in a constructive direction, it’s still important to raise awareness about this issue at your company.
Why?
Because the media influences our perceptions of mental health every day, even at work. Many people don’t take the time to pause and consider how it’s influenced them.
So the next time you host a mental health discussion or talk about your company’s latest initiatives, try getting your colleagues to think about their own perceptions.
Here are four tips for you and your colleagues to have constructive conversations:
Raise awareness — talk about the influence of media on our everyday lives and ask your staff to reflect on their own beliefs. Even give examples (or use the ones above) to really show people what this means. If it takes hosting team-wide, division-wide, or company-wide events about this, DO IT!
Encourage active listening — ask your colleagues to pause and listen to others when they talk about mental health. The goal is to understand each person’s perspective on this sensitive and complex topic.
Promote curiosity — if an colleague doesn’t understand what another colleague is going through, encourage them to ask questions. In the reverse case, encourage your employees to educate others about their mental health/mental illness (respectfully, please).
Call out negative stereotypes — this one is important. If you see your colleagues slinging mental health stereotypes at each other, don’t be afraid to (respectfully) call them out on it. The goal is to dispel myths around this subject, so speak up when you see harmful behavior — and encourage your employees, leaders, and colleagues to do the same.
This process will take time, but these simple tips will move the needle and shift the narrative in your company.
MEDIA INFLUENCE AND MENTAL HEALTH
When the system that's providing us information won't (or is too slow to change), it’s up to us to raise awareness and shift the narrative around this topic, and encourage people to critically think about what they see presented to them.
Are you ready to talk to your employees about the effects of the media on our mental health?
Reach out to Melissa to see how she can help.
Ready to learn more about the factors that affect our mental health?
Check out Melissa’s new book.
Sources:
Stuart, H. Media Portrayal of Mental Illness and its Treatments. CNS Drugs 20, 99–106 (2006). https://doi.org/10.2165/00023210-200620020-00002.
Naveed Saleh, MD. “How Mental Health Issues Are Damaged by Mass Media.” Verywell Mind, Verywell Mind, 2 June 2020, https://www.verywellmind.com/mental-health-stigmas-in-mass-media-4153888#toc-trivialization-of-mental-illness-by-the-media.
Doman, Melissa. Yes, You Can Talk about Mental Health at Work: Here's Why ... and How to Do It Really Well. Welbeck Publishing Group, 2021.
